To Stay Alive

Seeing that the fire was effective, Mo Li's suspended heart finally settled for the time being. He threw the burning clothes onto the ground and placed Zhong Lichun and Wei Dengke, whom he was holding, next to the bonfire. Gradually, a large number of insects crawled out from inside their clothes. It was clear that although Mo Li had held them, his body heat couldn't reach their entire bodies, so there were still many insects inside their clothes.

Now, with the heat from the fire, these insects couldn't stand it anymore and all crawled out. Mo Li wasn't worried about these insects entering their bodies. Hypothermia primarily manifests as excessively low body surface temperature, while internal body temperature remains high. Since these insects feared heat so much, they shouldn't burrow into their bodies.

How long could one piece of clothing burn? By the time Mo Li laid them both on the ground next to the bonfire, the piece of clothing had already burned more than halfway. It was estimated that it wouldn't be long before it completely extinguished. Once the clothes went out, the insects would swarm back. Mo Li had no choice but to continue burning his own clothes. His jacket was already gone, so Mo Li had to take off his shirt as well, roll it into a ball, and throw it into the bonfire. With new fuel, the bonfire's flames became vigorous again. However, more vigorous flames meant a faster consumption of combustibles.

Watching his jacket and shirt burn rapidly, Mo Li felt like crying. He only had a few pieces of clothing on him. Even if he burned them all, how long could it last?

Even if it couldn't last long, Mo Li had to burn it. So, in the next few minutes, Mo Li burned his vest, outer pants, and underpants. All he had left was a pair of boxer shorts.

These boxer shorts were Mo Li's last fig leaf. If he burned them, Mo Li would be completely naked. Moreover, the fabric of these boxer shorts was too little; even if he burned them, how long could they last?

Helplessly, Mo Li could only shift his gaze to Wei Dengke. This guy still had quite complete clothing on him. It seemed he could only burn this guy's clothes now. Coming to Wei Dengke's side, Mo Li tried to untie the straps on Wei Dengke's body that were hanging with various strange trinkets. However, he didn't know what the straps were fastened with. Mo Li searched for a long time but couldn't find the buckle. Mo Li tried to cut them with a knife, but the straps surprisingly contained special metal wires inside, making them exceptionally strong. It was impossible to cut them in a short time. Meanwhile, the bonfire had become weak again and was about to go out.

The situation didn't allow Mo Li to delay any further. He helplessly looked back at Zhong Lichun, who was also unconscious, and muttered bitterly, "Sister, don't blame me! I'm trying to save your lives."

After saying that, Mo Li, with a strange expression, pulled Zhong Lichun to sit up, then took off the mountaineering jacket she was wearing and threw it into the bonfire.

The material of this mountaineering jacket was very special; it was waterproof and fire-resistant, making it difficult to ignite. After the mountaineering jacket was thrown in, the bonfire was almost extinguished. Fortunately, Mo Li reacted quickly and pulled the mountaineering jacket back, thus saving the bonfire from going out.

Since the mountaineering jacket couldn't be burned, the only thing left on Zhong Lichun that could be burned was...

The bonfire finally became vigorous again. At this moment, Zhong Lichun was covered with that mountaineering jacket. Judging by the exposed parts under the jacket, the form-fitting suit Zhong Lichun was wearing had turned into firewood in the bonfire.

The material of Zhong Lichun's form-fitting suit was also very special, burning very slowly. This gave Mo Li ample time. While the bonfire was still burning, Mo Li returned to Wei Dengke's side and began to cut the straps tied around his body with a knife. With Mo Li's efforts, the straps were finally cut. Mo Li untied them and then began to search through all of Wei Dengke's pockets. Clothes could be burned, but if there was anything left in the pockets, it might be useful, so Mo Li wouldn't burn those things along with the clothes.

To Mo Li's surprise, Wei Dengke had quite a lot of miscellaneous items on him: glow sticks, cold fireworks, a small oxygen tank, a fluorescent marker pen, a flare gun with three high-intensity flares, and some small devices that looked like mobile phones, which Mo Li didn't recognize.

After emptying all of Wei Dengke's pockets, Mo Li also took off Wei Dengke's clothes and threw them into the bonfire. Now, except for the two mountaineering jackets that couldn't be burned, they were almost left with only their undergarments.

Although the bonfire was temporarily saved, how long could these clothes burn? Based on the current burning speed, it would last for at most half an hour, or even less. Once the bonfire went out, the insects would definitely return.

Mo Li had no better solution now and could only continue to look for things to burn. All they had left were three climbing ropes and two backpacks.

Mo Li wouldn't burn the climbing ropes, as they would need them to get back. So, the only things that could be burned now were the two backpacks.

Taking the two backpacks, Mo Li opened them and dumped their contents onto the ground. He didn't bother to check what was inside the backpacks and directly threw the two backpacks into the bonfire, which made the bonfire even more vigorous.

Having burned the last burnable items, Mo Li slumped onto the ground dejectedly. Then, he just stared blankly at the bonfire. Everything that could be burned had been burned, and these things would last for at most half an hour. What would he do after half an hour? Did he have to carry Wei Dengke and Zhong Lichun out? But now all three of them were almost naked. If they went out, it would be fine for him, but Wei Dengke and Zhong Lichun would definitely freeze to death. If they didn't go out, he could only choose to walk towards the depths of the cave. But this was supposed to be the Yeti's habitat; if he went in, wouldn't he be walking into a trap?

Now Mo Li was in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat. He didn't know what to do. Frustrated, Mo Li sighed deeply, then placed his hands on the ground behind him, supporting his body to relax as much as possible. However, when his right hand touched the ground, he felt his palm gradually getting warmer, as if he were pressing on a hot towel.

Turning his head to the right with a curious expression, Mo Li saw in the firelight that his right hand was resting on a rectangular bag. The heat was emanating from this bag.

Picking up the bag, Mo Li opened it and looked inside. After that, Mo Li's expression became extremely grim. This bag contained over a dozen self-heating patches. These things were divine artifacts for warding off the cold; they would naturally generate heat when attached to the body. If Mo Li had known about such good things earlier, why would he have burned all their clothes and backpacks?

However, regretting it now was meaningless. Looking at the ashes in the bonfire, Mo Li felt like crying but had no tears. He felt like an idiot! Why didn't he check what useful things were in the backpacks first?